Monday, December 16, 2013

Thanksgiving at the farm town. . .












Headed up the farm for Thanksgiving a couple of weeks ago.
Shelbina Mo, still a very active farm community.

This is how the main street looked in the early 1900's. Busy, busy, busy.














Although the main streets have lost many of their old buildings, there are still lots of fine ones standing.













 Wife's fathers family gathers each Thanksgiving as a reunion of sorts.

Always a large crowd.

Most time they use one hall or another either at the golf course, senior center, library or old school.
Occasionally someone is brave enough to hold it in their home.

The whole gang this year.











 Pre-meal snacks.

'The Board of Mischief.' during a planning session.

We lose another from 'The Greatest Generation'

Just a few weeks ago, in the middle of November we said goodbye to my sister-in-laws step father.
We had known him and his family for about fifty-five years.
I guess at some point I knew he had been in the service, but it wasn't, as is often the case, until we were at his memorial that I found out to what extent. As with most of his generation he was pretty quiet about it, willing to talk about it if it came up, but otherwise kept it to himself.

He was in the army towards the end of the war.
Participated in the Battle of the Bulge.
His glider crashed in the river on landing and his commander was killed.
He was stuck in a wine cellar for a couple of days (he rather liked that part).
Fell in love with a french girl, but didn't get to bring her home.

He was buried with military honors.








 A very intelligent man, working at times for McDonald Douglas, Boeing and NASA.

Built an electric car years ago.


Saturday, December 7, 2013

Sepia Sat. contribution - Aprons


Both of these photos, which I have posted before, are of my Grandmother.
This first one is of her when she was a young woman working in Ireland as a domestic, probably around 1915. She is seated on the ground.


.
This second is on Douglas Street, Selby, probably mid-1930's.
No indoor plumbing. The only row of these house's still standing on that block.

T